The Fulfilling Facet - Emotional Influence

Tell Me a Story

Emotional writing - creating impact

"It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what other men do not say in whole books." - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzshe

Emotional influence is sometimes the most ignored facet with wannabe writers. Emotion is essential, not only when linked to what characters feel about themselves and others, but more importantly, in the reaction they stir in readers.

Creative writing tips - but what is emotional impact?

Creative writing is worthless without emotion. Creating emotional impact is the only real way to cultivate empathy between readers and your story.
Enjoyment, fury, dread and anguish are the most common human emotions. Each time you find a piece of writing that sticks in your mind, it's usually spiked with one or more of these. If you want your own work to be thought of in this way, you'll have to wrench at those same feelings in your readers.
Emotional writing? So, what is the right way to go about writing a book that has sufficient emotion? How do you create such an elusive element in your readers? Naming it certainly doesn’t produce it. We can declare our protagonists irritated, anxious, broken-hearted or suchlike, but it doesn’t generate the emotion in the reader. How then do we use this intangible feature

Elements of emotional writing.

How do established authors invoke emotion? There are certain elements in creative writing that can be brought into play that have an emotional influence. It must be noted that their whole is greater than the sum of their parts. You should be prepared to include all elements to be sure of capturing this elusive quality.

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• Emotional writing - There must be consequence. The degree of emotive reaction is a direct reflection of the character’s problem and the consequences they face. Will there be incentive if the central character makes it, will there be tragedy if he doesn’t.
• Emotional writing - There must be a strong theme. The outcome of the story must be important in some way. The story must mean something. If the predicament doesn’t matter one way or another, readers won’t be bothered about the outcome.
• Emotional writing - There must be struggle. There must not only be consequence in the plot, there must be serious tussle both inner and outer with the character, otherwise no emotion will come from it. No matter how severe the crisis, if it is easily sorted, no one will care; no one will feel anything.
• Emotional writing - Find that passion. Passion grows from the story’s significance. If the task is meaningless, there will be no feeling, no identity.
• Emotional writing - Think about the atmosphere. A story should have mood, ambience, atmosphere, call it what you will. Mood comes from all the restrained emotions that arise from the material elements of your story. It’s not enough to set a house in front of your characters; we need to know how they feel about it. Is it scary, or full of love, what does it mean to them; how does it move them?
• Emotional writing - Use the senses. Characters shouldn’t walk in a vacant space. Tell readers what is around them. Emotions can be constructed from sensory reaction even when there isn’t a problem. It won’t be a strong emotion, but it can exist as an entirety by itself.
• Emotional writing - Writing with moderation. Never give emotive words too full rein when you’re displaying how a character feels, use moderation, it’s a good maxim. Play down the most moving events. Encounter in itself carries drama, and key sentiments become implicit without description.
• Emotional writing - Limit your detail. Be cautious of littering scenes with too much detail. It takes only a few well-chosen words to describe a setting. Humans don’t have time to respond to every element around them, and characters should not respond to everything either. Opt for the most valuable details; the reader will fill in the rest.

Emotional writing tips - and so....

So maybe the lesson to be learned from these emotional writing tips, is to write with every single sense, including the sixth, but to write with restraint. Remember, more than enough is too much. Use your descriptive powers with self-control. Make every word count.

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Creating Tension

Tell Me a Story - writing tip

AJ, how did you create tension in your novel? I couldn't stop reading PAST SINS. I simply HAD to find out what happened next. How can I create something similar, my stories always seem to fall flat?

That's very kind of you, Mary. Thank you. I've compiled a short list for creating tension, that is at least a starting point.

1. The goals of the main protagonists should be at odds.
2. Each of the main characters must be struggling to reach their individual aims, independent of, and at the expense of the other.
3. The route your protagonists take in achieving their aims becomes the source of action. You should make a meal of it; take full advantage.
4. The plot should have an emotive aspect. It should always be dynamic.
5. Strong feeling shouldn’t merely be related in characters; show by reactions, don't tell.
6. It’s the emotion that you invoke in your readers that counts.
7. It’s essential you understand the feelings you wish to stir in your reader before you write. You must write with that emotion in mind at all times.
8. The theme of the story should be one about which you care deeply.
9. You must be affected by your characters, be caught up with what happens to them.
10. Unless you believe in your characters and equate with their struggle, you may as well dump the whole idea. Your work won’t have the oomph that tempts people to turn pages.

Coupled with the above, a time constraint can also help in creating tension. Having to acomplish something before some consequence affects the characters is always a nail-biter. Hope this helps a little.

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